Offseason Day #2: A rough outline of a plan

My Patriots needs as of a month ago haven’t really changed much after the post-season non-fun. Here they are again, with some notes as to why I’ve initially ranked them this way.

1. Tackle (Vollmer/Cannon entering last years, always go trenches over skill, high draft)
2. Early Down Running Back (mid-round draft, Gaffney potential?, Blount is FA)
3. Wide Receiver (Amendola possible cap casualty, LaFell entering last year, Keshawn Martin ceiling? high/mid/low draft)
4. Linebacker (middle guy, coverage speed, cut & re-sign Mayo on cheap, draft, FA)
5. Cornerback (depth and size needed, re-sign Tarrell Brown? Low draft )
6. Tight End (always a need, find ideal Gronk compliment at Y-TE)
7. Guard (Are Mason/Jackson/Kline the answer?)
8. Defensive End (Sheard/Ninkovich/Jones entering last years)
9. Defensive Tackle (always a need)

Here’s how the depth chart currently looks, along with free agents. I starred the priority guys for me. Branch and Mayo have orange boxes signifying their options this offseason.

Here’s a rough outline for a plan this offseason.

Decline: Mayo option

Don’t see much interest out there for Mayo, at least not enough to get him to leave New England even if the Pats offered him a vet minimum type deal after declining his option. Does he have anything left in the tank? Didn’t look like it this year though he started to make some plays down the stretch. Given his favored status with BB I could see him getting one last shot on a team-friendly deal. Either way, LB depth is a priority.

Re-Work/Cut: Amendola, Bostic

Bostic did nothing after the Pats traded for him and is an easy cut unless there were lingering injury issues they’d like to give him a chance to get through. Amendola is an interesting one, due to make $5 million with a $6.8 million cap hit. They’re still paying for the overpriced contract they gave him two years ago, and had to already re-do it once last season to spread out his hit a little bit. Seems possible he might not return unless he’s willing to do the Pats another favor.

Pickup: Branch option

Pats have an option on Branch that would pay him the same salary as this year: $1.2 million. The $2.75 million cap hit might be a little rich for the Pats, but Branch was consistently good this season and made for a great starting inside pair with Malcolm Brown. Must bring at least him or Hicks back, and Branch is far more affordable.

Extend: Hightower, Sheard, Collins, Butler

Not a lot of priority internal free agents this year but next offseason is brutal so they need to start locking guys up now. Hightower is my top priority, he’s the heart of the defense now and gets just a slight nod over Jamie Collins, who is nearly as important. Sheard was everything we’d hoped he’d be last season, and was playing over Chandler Jones in the playoffs. He should be a long-term building block. Butler should get done before the end of the 2016 season, but for the Pats, who don’t overpay the corner position, it will be interesting to see how they value Butler.

Trade Bait: Chandler Jones

Pats are in a good position with Chandler in that they can just let him play out the last year of his contract, because he still has something to prove. They have the depth to replace him though and that’s why he could be trade bait. A Sheard-Ninkovich-Flowers-Grissom DE group would be okay assuming Flowers builds on how he looked in limited action last summer. Either way, I don’t think Chandler’s with the Pats past 2016.

Priority RFA/ERFA: Coleman, Develin, C. Fleming, King, Siliga, R. Johnson.

Coleman was really underrated in the slot and despite injuries and a concussion came on in the playoffs. They’ll want to keep him around for sure. Develin’s return would really help the struggling run game and give the offense another dynamic they missed this year. Fleming stays cause we can’t cut all the tackles. King was extremely underrated on special teams and could be needed to fill a void that Brandon Bolden/Nate Ebner might leave via free agency.

Priority Internal UFA: Ebner, Fletcher, Brown, Hicks

We can take a shot at Hicks but it seems likely he’ll get more elsewhere after getting that new Patriots smell rubbed all over him this season. Tarrell Brown looked like a starter in training camp and would be the perfect kind of veteran to bring in to the corner mix again rather than trolling for someone new who may or may not get it. Always liked Fletcher and linebacker depth is a need, especially someone like him with good quickness and coverage ability. Keeping Ebner over Wilson for special teams. Wilson replaceable by King, Fletcher.

External FA Positional Consideration: RB, OT, LB, WR

Don’t get too crazy with delusions of big name, high priced guys here with all the internal guys who need to be secured. The Amendola/Mayo/Fletcher/Cannon/Vollmer situations will impact the needs here and must play out first. One name I liked before the draft is WR Mohammad Sanu who has good size and can do a number of different things. Otherwise I’m looking at mid-range vets coming off injuries or sub-par seasons who will be reasonably priced.

Initial Primary Draft (Long-term) Needs: OT, LB, RB, WR, QB

Again, we have to go through free agency first to really get a sense on draft needs but generally the draft is about the long term. These are the positions that need young depth more than anywhere else. And I’m throwing QB on there because it would make sense if you think Brady can get another couple years out of his body past 2017, the last year of his current deal (which is also the last year of Garoppolo’s. At this point, the more young QBs we can groom under Brady the better.